Oatmeal: Your Healthiest Breakfast Yet

Boost Your oatmeal with these recipes

Oatmeal's health-food reputation is so solid, you might not think to check the label. But some brands cram in artificial ingredients and sweeteners that displace the heart-smart, waistline-trimming benefits. Luckily, there's an easy solution, or five: Ditch the packets and stir up a bowl of plain oats (any variety; see "Cereal Smackdown," last slide), then try one of these yummy, nutritious combos.

There's no truth to the popular claim that steel-cut oats are better for you than rolled or quick oats (unless it's an instant variety that's loaded with added sugars and other chemicals). The myth originated from the (not true) notion that processing the whole-grain oat—called a groat—by rolling it or flattening it removes the bran and a lot of the fiber.

"All processing methods start with a whole-grain oat and make it smaller, but nothing of nutritional value is added or taken away during that process," says Christine Gerbstadt, M.D., R.D. And that's true regardless of whether the oats have been blade-cut (a.k.a. steel-cut or Irish oats), rolled (old-fashioned oatmeal), flaked (quick-cook oats), or finely flaked (instant oatmeal).

Less processing does make steel-cut oats chewier and may slightly dampen the effect the carbs have on your blood sugar, but that effect is slight. The real benefit—cholesterol-lowering, heart-protecting, waistline-shrinking beta-glucan fiber—can be found in any bowl.

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